1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to vehicles and, more specifically, to reinforcement of vehicle doors arranged a side of pick-up trucks.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to provide a vehicle such as a pick-up truck with a body having a door opening. It is also known to provide a pair of doors pivotally connected to the body to open and close the door opening. Typically, a front door is pivotally mounted on a vertical front pillar through hinges and a rear door is pivotally mounted on a vertical rear pillar through hinges and joined pillarlessly in a closed position. Each door has an inner panel and outer panel which are joined together to form a space there between.
It is further known that vehicles may have imposition of external side intrusion loads during operation. As a result, vehicles have incorporated a horizontal reinforcement or door guard beam extending longitudinally in the space between the inner and outer panels. The horizontal reinforcement beam transfers side intrusion loads to the vertical pillars of the vehicle body. The horizontal reinforcement beam lessens the effects of a side intrusion load on an occupant compartment of the vehicle. While the horizontal reinforcement beam provides an advantage in lessening the effects from a side intrusion load, in certain vehicle applications, additional reinforcement may be desired to further lessen the effects of a side intrusion load on an occupant compartment of a vehicle.